Encouraging Truths from the Bible

We live in a fast-paced, ever-changing world. There is always new technology, and tastes and preferences seem to change at the drop of a hat. In many ways, change is a good thing, but life can also take a turn for the worse as a result of change. In a world that changes, we need to have a stable anchor.

In Malachi 3:6, the Bible says “For I am the Lord, I change not” (KJV).

We can trust God because He is always good, and that truth will never change.

In my life as a Christian, there have been a few verses that I have reminded myself of on many occasions. I hope these timeless truths will be an encouragement to you, as they have been to me.

Hebrews 13:5 says, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”” (ESV).

It is very easy to get focused on fixing everything ourselves, and sometimes we feel that we are alone. No one around us seems to be listening. But God is always with His children, and He wants to hear from us. We can be content in knowing that He cares for us, and no matter how lonely we may feel, He is with us and will never turn His back on us.

When you feel lonely, know that God is there and pray to Him.

Joshua 1:8 says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (ESV).

God never leaves us and He never forsakes us, but we often do not take the time to think about Him as we should. He tells us to meditate on His Word. The Bible is a love letter from God to us.

If the most popular, rich, and powerful person wrote you a note telling you everything you needed to know to become a true success, you would most certainly read it multiple times and try to get everything you could out of it.

That’s what God has written to us in the Bible.

God, who is far more rich and powerful than anyone in the world, has written a letter to us, and He wants us to be successful. This may not be measured in terms of financial or social gain, but He wants us to become a success in His eyes.

We can accomplish that by taking the time to read the profound wisdom of His Word and spending quality time getting to understand its truths.

Philippians 3:13-14 says, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (KJV).

These verses have resonated with me for years. Before any life-changing event was about to happen, this was very often my go-to devotional passage.

We must forget the past. We cannot change it. Yes, there are things we can learn from past mistakes. But at the same time, past failures can negatively affect our perception of what the future holds. If we failed in the past and dwell on it, then we will feel discouraged about the future and will be held back from the potential success.

In the same way past successes can make us be complacent in the present, since we might think that if we succeeded in the past that that is what will automatically happen in the future too, without us having to work for it.

The past is past, and we should leave it that way if we really want to fulfill the calling God has for us. We need to leave our old ways to truly be able to follow Jesus.

And when we do this, we must remember why we are doing that. If we are trying to forget the past and reach forward to the future to benefit ourselves, we are doing this for the wrong reason. Before every major task, be it a task, new job, or simply trying something new; remember that you are aiming to forget the past and reach forward to the future because you want to be considered a successful servant of God. To fulfill that calling that He has for you.

This life is but a blink of an eye relative the eternity. The Bible is encouraging us in Philippians 3 to use the time we have now to live a life for something greater than ourselves.

In our own strength, we cannot accomplish this, but with God’s help we can accomplish all that He has called us to do!